Charting Bring Me The Horizon’s progression from plucky upstarts to scene stars and internationally revered artists, through their iconic music videos…
They’re one of the biggest names in rock these days, but Bring Me The Horizon didn’t start out looking like they’d become practically a household name. Through switching things up, relentlessly leading the charge and doing whatever the hell they wanted along the way, it’s been one hell of a ride…
If you were somehow new to Bring Me The Horizon, worked backwards and watched this video after everything else on the list, you’d have a hard time believing it was by the same band. Which goes to show just how much of a journey the Sheffield crew have been on and how much they’ve packed into their years on the scene. Despite the hype and promise that greeted the arrival of their 2007 debut album Count Your Blessings, it was sheer force of personality, will and determination that saw them through in the earliest days.
The musical improvement and contrast between the debut Bring Me The Horizon album and its 2009 follow-up, Suicide Season, was marked to say the least. That was reflected in the band’s live performances too, which suddenly became known for being chaotic in a good way. You can get a sense of how fun they were in this video, which is very much of its time and reflective of the scene back then, but already you can see and hear a band coming into their own, growing in stature and ability.
After a few years in the game and three albums deep, it was all change in camp Horizon, with the outgoing Curtis Ward making way for I Killed The Prom Queen guitarist Jona Weinhofen. Musically, the expansion hinted at previously came to full fruition too, with Oli Sykes seeming more at ease with his duties and role as the band’s frontman. Not that he wasn’t feeling the pinch and paying the price for it all, as suggested by the no-punches-pulled metaphor of this video…
The world had never heard Bring Me The Horizon like this before and nothing had really prepared anyone for the incredible artistic strides forward that occurred on 2013’s Sempiternal. For this bold new direction, former Worship man Jordan Fish came on board adding keys and fresh songwriting input. And for one of the band’s most iconic and important songs, there was this equally striking video proving that the Sheffield gang really meant business now.
Interspersing footage of the band playing in what looks like a working man’s club (as if you’d have seem them in such close quarters by this stage!) and scenes of a girl sleepwalking through wintery terrain, this is where things start to get real weird. Showcasing a more dynamic and mellow side of the band, this was Bring Me The Horizon very much broadening theirs.
And if you thought that one was out there, it was nothing compared to the eerie symbolism inherent in this one. Another of the band’s now-iconic live staples, bursting with the electronic influence brought to the table by Jordan, this is not for the faint of heart. Featuring creepy hooded figures with beaked masks performing surgical procedures with very sharp implements and black blood, things get real dark, real quick.
Suits, bubbles and drummer Mat Nicholls gradually getting hairier and hairier until he transforms into a werewolf and chews on Jordan Fish’s leg? Sure. Things had gotten properly barmy by the time this one rolled around. Originally intended and released as a standalone track between albums, it would eventually make the That’s The Spirit cut, a record which produced a number of equally captivating and memorable music videos…
How do you like your symbolism and visual metaphors? For his first crack at directing a video (alongside longtime collaborator Plastic Kid), Oli Sykes went wild and helped produce this bombastic head scratcher. It’s been a few years since and we’re still trying to work out what half of it could mean, but one thing’s for sure: it is absolutely gorgeous.
And from the beautiful to the downright disturbing. This epic was more like a mini movie, complete with murder mystery, kitchen sink family drama and performance video, all in one. Which considering it was Oli Sykes’ first time flying solo in the director’s chair is quite the feat.
Okay, hands up, fair cop, this one is a bit of a cheat. We could have included the one with the dead dog in it, but no-one needs to see that again, no matter how great the video for Follow You is. Instead, have this incredible live performance clip of the band playing to a sold-out Royal Albert Hall with a full orchestra and choir, in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust. Now, go watch that Pray For Plagues video again and try to get your head around how all of this has happened in such a short space of time. Here’s to many more years of Bring Me The Horizon continuing to evolve, inspire and defy expectations.
